Nine Lives
by mydiscocasino
Summary: So cats have nine lives. Big friggin' deal. The real question is- do Saints? A madcap dash through the BDS universe involving prison breaks, cat burglars, revenge plots, chain smoking, hideaways on the riviera, a dash of romance and plenty o' whiskey.
1. Prologue

**BOSTON**  
_May 1st, 2010_

The atmosphere was tense as Detectives Dolly and Duffy squared off. Though once close, the two men had lapsed into an awkward relationship following the death of their colleague and friend David Greenly. As a result, they found it challenging to even be in the same room with one another; to have a conversation was unthinkable.

But the facts remained. It had been six months since Otillio Panza shot an innocent priest, drawing the brothers MacManus from their self-imposed exile. It had been six months since Eunice Bloom walked into their lives with her high heels and southern drawl. Six months since they had felt any sort of job security. Six months since Dolly and Duffy were reunited with the Saints of South Boston, for better or for worse.

Eventually, one of them had to say something. Dolly took the plunge.

"So what now?"

Duffy stared. "What the fuck do you mean, what now?"

"What do I mean, what now? I mean, what the fuck are we gonna do now, you fuck?" Dolly was incredulous. "Greenly is dead. Smecker is dead. Bloom is gone and the fucking Saints are in a fucking maximum security fucking prison!" As his tirade continued, his voice got higher and higher. "And, oh yeah, small problem- we're probably gonna lose our FUCKING JOBS. So what the fuck now?"

Duffy took a deep breath. He'd expected an outburst like this. After all, Dolly had always been the hothead. Greenly was the clown and he himself was the ladies man, but Dolly had always been the one to lose his cool, to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Look," Duffy began. "I don't know. But hold your frigging horses, Dolly. I'll think of something. Just give me some time."

And as the sun rose over the Charles River, two men were left to mourn the past and fear the future, with no way of knowing that, some 2500 miles away, plans were already being hatched.

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**A/N: **So that's the prologue. Here's a little housekeeping:  
-I'm assuming that the movie started on its' release date of 11/01/09 and that the events within occured over a period of six months, putting the start date of our story at 05/01/10- the very same day i'm posting this prologue! Convenient, yes??  
-Chapters will get longer very soon!!  
-Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.


	2. Chapter One

**Somewhere in the Caribbean  
**_May 1, 2010_

Eunice Bloom was not pleased. If looks could kill, Paul Smecker would be six feet under right now -- and for real, this time. But they would deal with her frustrations at another time. Right now, all her energy needed to be focused on springing the MacManus twins out of their shiny new prison cells.

"Do you have an inside man? A plan? Any idea of where to go from here?" she demanded of the once-dead agent.

"I have something much better, my dear. Remember the Cat?"

"The Cat?" Eunice was confused. "The thief?"

"The very same," Smecker was clearly pleased with himself though Eunice couldn't, for the moment, figure out why. "She's an old friend. Owes me a favor."

"And just where is this cat now? Lounging in some island hideaway off the coast of France?"

"She's already on her way." Smecker's eyes were drawn to some distant sight located behind Eunice's head. "And speak of the devil…"

As Eunice turned around, she saw nothing but the little boat shack she had just come from. It was a nice enough place, she mused, with plenty of sunlight -- much better than dreary old Boston. It would be a lovely vacation spot if she hadn't devoted herself to the task at hand. Anyway, the sting of losing Greenly was too new and the pain still too fresh to mask with some sand and surf. But she was getting distracted. She'd turned around for a reason, hadn't she? At that moment, out of the shadows, came Smecker's mysterious Cat.

She was a slip of a thing, maybe 5'2", with big brown eyes and shiny gold curls that fell halfway down her back. She looked to be about 18 and certainly seemed incapable of her numerous escapades. One slender wrist was adorned with an intricate tattoo, the details of which Eunice could not make out. She wore a gauzy linen tunic over simple shorts, her tiny feet covered in leather sandals. This was the Cat? This was the thief who had famously eluded authorities from Alabama to Zaire? Frankly, Eunice was unimpressed.

"What up, Slick? How's my favorite agent?" The Cat's voice was light and teasing as she faced Smecker. "And more importantly, what does he need?"

"Tell me, Cat. Did news of the triumphant return of the Saints of South Boston ever reach Montenegro?" Smecker volleyed back, easily.

"Not so much, but I'm aware. I was in Boston when it happened, actually. Six or seven months ago, yeah?" She seemed to notice Eunice for the first time. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh!" Smecker had the decency to look embarrassed. "Cat, this is Special Agent Eunice Bloom -- my protégé as it were. Eunice, this is the Cat."

As the women shook hands, Eunice seemed a little confused. "Do people call you the Cat or do you have a real name or…"

"Cat's fine. I'm not too crazy about handing out my real name. Especially not to intimidating Special Agents that come with Smecker's personal approval." She turned to Smecker. "So the Saints. A couple of Irish guys killing off Boston's shadiest characters. I have to say I'm a fan of their work. But didn't they get caught?"

"Yes," Eunice finally spoke up. "And it's been a pain in my ass ever since."

"They're in the Hoag," Smecker added. "Anything you might be able to do about that?"

There was a pause as Cat chewed over the question. "Probably so," she eventually replied. "I knew a guy on the inside for a while. I could give him a call. Won't be easy, though. There's a new warden -- just transferred from Riverbend, in Nashville. He's about as tough as they come and worse than that, he's smart -- he knows someone's gonna try and get those boys out. We'll have to be ten steps ahead of him."

Eunice was surprised, to say the least. "And just how do you know so much about the goings-on of a Boston prison when you've been sequestered away on the Mediterranean for the last 3 years?"

Cat barely even looked at her, thick eyelashes fluttering down, as she shrugged, every inch of her body projecting overwhelming ennui. "I keep track of these things."

**

* * *

****A/N:** Okay, this can be considered the first actual chapter. It's short (though not as short as the last one!) but it set up a good bit. Next chapter is short, too -- it's time to see what the boys (and Romeo) have been up to back in Boston -- and then the length should increase as we get into the actual plot of the story. Not sure if Cat seems realistic yet, but know that she's going to be taking a backseat to our canon characters. There's a little romance on the horizon, but the focus of the story is definitely going to be the Saints-type action.

Fun Fact: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution is a real prison that I came across in my wikipedia research. I'm choosing to ignore that the warden has been there since 1995.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Having said that, I realize there are other stories on here with pretty, criminal-type ladies that help break the boys out. I solemnly swear I was not aware of them when I started writing this story and that all this is from my own crazy mind. But if it looks like I'm blatantly ripping something off, let me know, yeah?


End file.
